Toyota speedster Davidson bags third at Silverstone

Hemel Hempstead’s Anthony Davidson took third place in his #1 Toyota Racing LMP1 car at the opening round of the 2015 World Endurance Championship at Silverstone, writes Rupert Matthews.

Davidson came to the first race in good form after finishing first overall in the 2014 championship, although he knew there would be tough competition from the successful Audi R-18 team and the new Porsche 919 team.

The Toyota – shared by Davidson, Sebastien Buemi and Kazuki Nakajima – built up pace over the weekend, coming second in free practice 2 and finishing fastest of the Toyotas to take fourth place at the end of qualifying.

The race was hotly-contested when Davidson took over at the pit stop, eventually closing the gap and taking the lead, but he then conceded first spot to the #7 Audi after some exciting racing.

The #1 Toyota, driven by Buemi, eventually took the chequered flag in third, 14 seconds behind the #7 Audi, with the #18 Porsche coming in second.

Davidson said: “This is never a circuit which plays to the strengths of our car and we usually struggle a bit here; last year’s one-two was helped a bit by the weather.

“I’m looking forward to the next races when I think we will be stronger. Hopefully as we get to circuits where tyre wear is a bigger factor that will play to our strengths.”